Changing Clubs

The club I train at only has 1 senior class a week so I usually supplement my training by also training at other clubs.Recently the amount of seniors at my club has dropped so much that the instructors have invited some of the better and bigger juniors to join the senior class.Now I’m 6ft 3, 14 ½ stone and 41 years old. A 14 year old orange belt really doesn’t offer me much in the way of an opponent in randori or someone I can chat to about work & life in general after the class. Currently there is only 1 other senior in my club and I know that he is currently looking for a new job and house which would mean he can no longer train at my club. Once this happens I will have to make the difficult decision to leave and find an alternative club.

I’m sure most of you are thinking “what’s the big deal, just leave” But I feel an overwhelming sense of loyalty to the club. It’s a small village club which is 5 minutes from my home and I had thoughts about one day running the club myself.

Judostu, the note above confused me. Haven't you already solved your problem? You did say that you train at other clubs already, so the assumption is that your getting what you need at the other clubs. (unless you feel the need for even more classes at the other clubs)

The fact that your single senior class is void of other seniors is but an opportunity for you. The mutual benefit is that it gives challenge for the 14 year old and you can use the time to study Kuzushi with someone you should be able to control with ease.

_________________“I have never wished to cater to the crowd; for what I know they do not approve, and what they approve I do not know.” ... Epicurus at Sen. Lucil, 29.10

afulldeck wrote:Judostu, the note above confused me. Haven't you already solved your problem? You did say that you train at other clubs already, so the assumption is that your getting what you need at the other clubs. (unless you feel the need for even more classes at the other clubs)

The fact that your single senior class is void of other seniors is but an opportunity for you. The mutual benefit is that it gives challenge for the 14 year old and you can use the time to study Kuzushi with someone you should be able to control with ease.

I'm not always able to train at the other clubs due to family commitments. When this happens I am limited to doing Judo just once a week. I'm sure i'd progress more quickly training with people my own size and strength and also get more enjoyment out of training with guys my own age or at least approaching my own age.

I feel your pain. Two years ago I was in a similar position, except that the old instructor bailed and it was just me and a few newbs and juniors left. I had no business running a class, but I was able to keep it together for a little while. We got very lucky in that a new, very dynamic instructor happened into town, excited the local college crowd, and now enrollment is up 1500%. We have turned a failing club into a successful judo community that students are really excited to be a part of.

All you need is that right person to come through the door to turn it all around, and the right person has to be there to greet them when they come. That right person could be a student with a lot of friends, a parent booster, or any number of advantageous circumstances. Stick with it until you can't stand it any longer.

Clubs do grow and unfortunately some don't; the support we give them is what makes the difference. We all have different commitments and pressures that affect how much time we are able to train. I have been in your position, over the last 20 years I have seen 3 clubs close for various reasons, you do have to widen your horizons and find other clubs to support your training needs, but that doesn't mean you have to abandon your current club.

Best of luck finding another club that will fit in with your situation, there is always one if you look hard enough and are prepared for a bit more travelling.

Steve Leadbeater wrote:Who cares if you would progress more quickly..............enjoy the journey.

Promote the club and try to get more interest, work for it, don't let it do all the work.

I care if I progress more quickly. I'm 41 now and only a 2nd kyu. I don't want to be fighting for my black belt when i'm pushing 50.As for promoting the club, I do that as much as I can via my blog. I've also offered to design a new website and a friend of mine agreed to host it for free. furthermore I have come up with many ideas on how we could raise the profile of the club, for instance making the last Tuesday of each month a "randori" night. We could promote that amongst other local clubs so that people would be attracted to our club to get some extra training in. If the liked it they may come back for the regular sessions as well.All these ideas were turned down and the club continues to limp along and slowly die, at least where the seniors are concerned.

As a person who regularly trains at two different clubs and circumstances allowing a third, and has been taught a great deal by the instructor/s of each, I empathise with the essence of your difficulty. I prioritise training with my original- much smaller and relatively less competitive- club. However the practicalities of your situation differ significantly from those of mine; and if you don't mind my saying so, despite your moral difficulties it sounds like you've already decided what you want to do?

For what it might be worth, with your situation as you describe it you are not at all obligated to prioritise training at your original club at the detriment of the furthering of your Judo education. What you are ultimately comfortable with doing is very much dependent upon your personal values and the particulars of your situation, but with the circumstances as they stand IMO any of your proposed options are hardly ones which one could reasonably condemn you for taking. Also, the choice isn't a dichotomous one; electing on those weeks when the days on which you can train are limited to do so at other clubs does not by any means nessecitate renouncing all loyalty to your original one.

Just my 2c. Regards, and I hope the situation for your original club improves.

My club had only 1 class a week (Saturday morning) and it always felt rushed, because the juniors would start straight after the seniors, which meant that you didn't have the opportunity to discuss things with your sensei after class. At the time I also had a 3 month old boy who I wanted to spend as much time with as possible. That meant weekends revolved mostly around my new family.I felt the same as JudoStu, in that I felt loyal to the club, as that is where I learnt everything I knew about Judo. It is also a 'family' club and mostly for recreational players.Unfortunately, I had to make a change and I decided to join another club. And I couldn't be more satisfied with the decision!Now I am able to attend two classes per week. Technique on Mondays and Randori on Wednesdays. Also, 80-90% of each class are 1st Kyu and Dan grades (I'm only 5th Kyu), so the knowledge you are able to tap into is great. I've only been at the new club for two months and I've already noticed an improvement.

Having said that though, I will always have a soft spot for my first club and I am still involved with some 'projects' of the club, eventhough I don't train there anymore.

Steve Leadbeater wrote:Who cares if you would progress more quickly..............enjoy the journey.

Promote the club and try to get more interest, work for it, don't let it do all the work.

Have you been successful in doing this? By success I’m wondering if you’ve actually brought 10 new students to Judo who stuck with it? How about 5 new students? In my experience Judo is a near impossible sell to the average person these days. If he brings a beginner to the club it doesn’t really help much with his progress. He’s also going to have a near impossible time convincing advanced students from other clubs to leave their club and join his.

These are all things I’ve faced myself. In short, in my experience it’s damn near impossible for a student to grow a Judo club especially if it’s not *his* Judo club. I don’t know what it’s like in the U.K. but in the United States BJJ is a far easier sell than Judo.

JudoStu wrote:The club I train at only has 1 senior class a week so I usually supplement my training by also training at other clubs.Recently the amount of seniors at my club has dropped so much that the instructors have invited some of the better and bigger juniors to join the senior class.Now I’m 6ft 3, 14 ½ stone and 41 years old. A 14 year old orange belt really doesn’t offer me much in the way of an opponent in randori or someone I can chat to about work & life in general after the class. Currently there is only 1 other senior in my club and I know that he is currently looking for a new job and house which would mean he can no longer train at my club. Once this happens I will have to make the difficult decision to leave and find an alternative club.

I’m sure most of you are thinking “what’s the big deal, just leave” But I feel an overwhelming sense of loyalty to the club. It’s a small village club which is 5 minutes from my home and I had thoughts about one day running the club myself.

Has anyone else found themselves in the same position as me?

Your size is going to problematic everywhere, moreso for you not hurting training partners, get a throw dummy imo as it doesn't complain and you can share him with a friend for practicing hard throws:

"The world is a republic of mediocrities, and always was." (Thomas Carlyle)"Nothing is as approved as mediocrity, the majority has established it and it fixes it fangs on whatever gets beyond it either way." (Blaise Pascal)"Quand on essaie, c'est difficile. Quand on n'essaie pas, c'est impossible" (Guess Who ?)"I am never wrong. Once I thought I was, and that was a mistake."